Glencoe native authors book about faith, fanaticism in SEC

Chad Gibbs knew he was both a football fan and follower of Christ while he was still a child. He didn't know he was a writer until he was grown.

By Laura CatoeTimes Staff Writer

Chad Gibbs knew he was both a football fan and follower of Christ while he was still a child. He didn't know he was a writer until he was grown. Gibbs graduated from Glencoe High School in 1996. Two years later, he was accepted at the University of Alabama, which was fitting because he was a devout fan of the Crimson Tide.But two weeks before signing a lease in Tuscaloosa, Gibbs had a change of heart. He went to visit high school friends attending Auburn and found himself “home.”He was happy to be in Auburn, even though he remained an Alabama fan. While he knew that Auburn was where he was supposed to be, Gibbs was less sure what he was supposed to study. “I had five majors in my first five quarters at Auburn,” he said. “Eventually, I settled on philosophy, with plans to attend seminary after college. But 12 months as a part-time youth minister persuaded me out of those plans.”Gibbs' years at Auburn transformed him in several important ways. First, his relationship with God deepened. Second, he met his wife-to-be, Tricia. And third, he became a die-hard Auburn fan. He likens it to Paul's Damascus Road experience in the New Testament. After graduation, Gibbs got a job in the development office at Auburn. “That first year, I had more hours in the day than actual work to do, so I began writing fake newspaper columns about my roommates, then posting them on the fridge when we got home,” he said.Tricia encouraged Gibbs to keep writing, and he's been writing ever since. In the summer of 2006, he began working on a humorous memoir. He signed a book deal with Zondervan in 2009; the book was to published in August 2010, four years after he'd begun writing it. Shortly after signing the book deal, Gibbs began work on a second book. “I've always been a crazed college football fan,” he said. “I thought it would be fun to write a book about faith and fanaticism in the Southeastern Conference.”He planned to visit all 12 SEC schools in one season, spending time with “rabid Christian fans like myself,” then write about how believers in the South balance their passions for faith and football. Such a plan would put him on the road a lot, and everything would have to be paid for out of pocket because he didn't have a book deal for the project he titled “Other Gods Before Me.” What did his wife think of the plan?“Tricia could not have been more supportive. She was in the final year of her medical residency, working 80 hours weeks, so we never saw each other anyway,” he said. He joked that Tricia was “just happy I found something to keep me busy.”During the summer of 2009, Gibbs contacted churches and campus ministries around the SEC. Replies came quickly, and he had dozens of fans to choose from at each school.After work on Friday, Sept. 4, 2009, Gibbs drove north to Vanderbilt to see the Commodores play Western Carolina. He spent two nights in a dorm. “Oh, the glamorous life of a Christian humorist,” he recalled.Gibbs' gumption to undertake the project without a book deal in place paid off. Five games into the season, his editor at Zondervan offered him a deal on “Other Gods Before Me,” and Zondervan wanted to publish it instead of the memoir in August. When Gibbs finished his trek around the SEC two months later, he had driven more than 6,500 miles and witnessed 14 football games. Days later, he sent his editor the first three chapters of the book, which now had a new title — “God and Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC.”In January, Gibbs quit his day job at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham so he could focus on finishing the book by its deadline. “It should be noted that Tricia is a doctor, so if I don't make any money writing, which I don't, we still have food on the table,” he said. Gibbs tried to be as honest as possible in the book. “I felt like my problems were so universal in the South, if I talked about them honestly, most folks would be able to see part of themselves in my struggle. So I tried to not make anything in my life off limits,” he said. Sometimes that honesty included Tricia, so he gave his wife a chance to read the book first and veto anything she didn't want in print. All she chose to remove was the name of a friend's Sunday School class. Since the book was published, it has received favorable reviews and enthusiastic support. Gibbs currently is on a book tour around the SEC. Sunday, he will be giving a talk at First Baptist Church of Glencoe beginning at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend. He also will be at the Gadsden Public Library on Dec. 7.It is Gibbs' hope that those who read “God and Football” will not only laugh, but “learn from the lessons God taught me as I traveled across the SEC.” Gibbs also blogs at www.chadgibbs.com.

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